Meeting By Moonlight
by 0LostInTranslation0
Summary: Shikamaru goes for a walk in the middle of the night and finds someone standing on the bridge. Someone he hasn't seen for the last few years... Just a cute oneshot... well, I thought it was cute anyways. ShikaIno


Shikamaru sighed as he gazed up at the stars above him, his arms behind his head. Temari was sleeping peacefully beside him. Her hot breath tickled his neck. A while ago Shikamaru had found this soothing and relaxing. These days he found it… troublesome.

They fought all the time; almost every day. The only day they didn't fight was when they were on missions and weren't together. They fought about the most petty things. Today's fight had been what to eat for lunch.

Temari had seen a new restaurant in town. It was a fancy place; with a large dining room filled with wooden square tables and red tablecloths. All of the napkins had been folded into origami birds that sat beside the wooden chopsticks.

Temari had thought the birds were cute. Shikamaru thought they were troublesome. Seriously; they were _napkins_. What was the point of folding them so neatly if the people eating were only going to scrunch them up afterwards?

Then Shikamaru had made the mistake of pointing this out. Temari retaliated and soon they were in an argument over _origami birds. _It raged on until somehow they found themselves fighting about which was better; square tables or circular ones.

That was when of the waiters asked if they were going to order anything. Shikamaru took one look at the menu and saw, with a groan, that the food was far more expensive than what he could afford. This started another fight and they both got kicked out.

Outside they started a shouting contest, scaring passers-by away. Well actually, Temari was the one shouting and Shikamaru returned her yells with cold, harsh comments. The restaurant manager came out and ordered them both away.

By the time they both stalked off their separate ways it was 2:30. Shikamaru had headed off to the training grounds to stare at clouds and Temari had gone off somewhere else, presumably to complain to Kankuro.

At 3:00 Temari had appeared again at the training grounds with a picnic basket. She didn't say so, but Shikamaru knew it was an apology. They had eaten, made amends and spent the day in one another's company.

Shikamaru sighed again as he looked at the sleeping sand ninja. He knew she was trying hard to make their relationship work, but they were just too different. He liked clouds. She enjoyed cloudless, sunny days. He liked lazing around and doing nothing. She liked being active. He was laid-back. She was outgoing. Even a genius like himself could find no way to help their slowly falling apart relationship.

Slowly so he wouldn't wake Temari, he stood and walked off with his hands in his pockets. He had no idea where he was going, but he didn't feel like staying there on the training ground. If his girlfriend woke she would just get up and walk off to wherever it was she was staying. Then probably yell at him the next day. That was Temari's way.

Shikamaru's feet led him down the streets of Konoha. It was so quiet; so different compared to the hustle and bustle of the day. The tread of his feet seemed so loud on the stone path. The chuunin suddenly felt a twang of loneliness, as though he was the only one in the world that understood him. Chouji was away on a mission with Neji and Kiba. Besides, he doubted that his friend would want to hear about Shikamaru's girl problems.

His feet led him to a small garden behind the hospital. A wooden bridge stretched across the trickling blue water of a river, weaving its way out of the town and into the forest beyond. Soft green grass waved in the cool night breeze. The wind made the hair on Shikamaru's uncovered arms stand up. The loud chirp of crickets filled the air. The stars above lit the garden; their light shining upon the peaceful scene…

Shikamaru's eyes caught sight of someone standing on the bridge. He stiffened, wondering if this person was an enemy. The full moon shone on the person, showing a young woman clad in purple with blonde hair. To Shikamaru this person seemed awfully familiar.

Another breeze caught the person's hair and carried it away from their face to reveal piercing blue eyes glinting in the moonlight. The eyes closed as the woman breathed in the night air. Her hands clutched the wooden rail lightly as she raised her face to the sky. A peaceful smile played on her lips.

With grace she opened her eyes and placed one foot after the other on the bridge rail, hoisting herself up. She closed her eyes once more as she stretched out her arms in the air. Her feet on the wooden rail were the only thing supporting her as she gave a peaceful sigh and allowed the wind to play with her silky blonde hair. The moonlight shone brightly off the metal of her ninja band.

"Ino?" Shikamaru asked. Ino stumbled for a moment, waving her arms around desperately in an attempt to stop herself from falling into the river below. Shikamaru grabbed one of her flailing arms and helped her to steady herself.

The young woman turned slowly to stare at the chuunin, those light blue eyes seeming to see right through him. "Shikamaru?" she asked disbelievingly.

Shikamaru nodded. "What are you doing here?" Ino questioned.

"Nothing. What about you?"

"Nothing." Ino replied, a small blush appearing on her cheeks.

They stood in silence for a while, simply staring at one another. Ino seemed to have changed, although how Shikamaru was unsure. Her eyes were the same piercing blue and her hair was still the same silky blonde. It was down, out of the usual ponytail to fall around her face. She seemed more mature and experienced. Her eyes held a new wisdom.

As Ino studied Shikamaru she realized how much taller he had grown. His hair was still in the same pineapple-shaped ponytail, but it seemed to have grown longer. His hands were back in his pockets and he stood leaning to the side in that same stance she had seen so many times.

"Long time no see." Shikamaru commented. It was a long time; neither had seen each other since Naruto had left with Jiraiya to train. Now he was back and off again on his first mission with Sakura and Kakashi.

Ino nodded. "How's Temari?" Her voice seemed surprisingly bitter, although she tried her best not to let her feelings show.

Shikamaru grunted. "Not too well."

Ino's head cocked to the side. "Oh?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Too many fights."

"Oh…"

"What about you? You were training to become a medical ninja, right?"

Ino nodded. "Yeah. It's hard work, but I've improved a lot. Besides, Sakura's always there to help if things with Tsunade get ugly. That woman can really throw a punch!"

Shikamaru smirked. "Well she _is _the Hokage, after all." He pointed out.

"So how's life as a chuunin?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru sighed. "Very troublesome. There's hardly any time to relax."

Ino giggled lightly. "I see you're still as lazy as ever."

"And you're still as beautiful as ever." Shikamaru didn't know where the words came from. They simply seemed to slip out of his mouth. Ino's stunned expression made him wish he could turn back time to erase his mistake, but it was too late for that.

Another gush of wind blew Ino's hair to the side. Shikamaru realized this was the first time he had seen Ino with her hair down. He turned around, slightly disheartened by her reaction.

"I guess I should go."

"Wait!" Ino's senses returned and she grabbed Shikamaru's arm. He turned back to her slowly, his black eyes staring into hers questioningly. Ino's cheeks grew hot, but she didn't let go of his arm. "We'll see each other again, right? I want to catch up. We haven't seen each other in ages…"

Shikamaru smiled. It was strange for Ino to see him smile; not actually smirk but smile. For Shikamaru it felt strange to smile. It had been so long since he last did. Then he realized that the last time he had smiled was when he was with Ino; before Naruto left and before he started dating Temari.

"Of course. We can meet here. I'll bring lunch."

Ino cocked her head again. "Like a date?" she asked.

Shikamaru turned without a reply and began walking off, his hands back in his pockets. "See you tomorrow then."

Ino watched him walk off, the breeze still blowing her hair to the side. _But he didn't answer my question…_


End file.
